The Union: General Ntumpa, it has been a long time since you last spoke publicly, what motivates you to speak out today?
General Ntumpa Lebani : “Thank you for the opportunity you are giving me to express my feelings at a crucial moment in our country’s history. As you noted, my speeches are circumscribed. And the reasons for this situation are multiple. At a time when Gabon is entering a phase of its future, it seemed useful to me to openly express my position on the current referendum process. My experience and my age strongly recommend it to me.”
You are giving us the pole, what is your view on the current referendum process?
“I actually spoke out because my remarks only relate to the subject. On other occasions we could discuss the rest of the news. To answer your question, I must say that I have an optimistic outlook on the ongoing process. My optimization starts first from the way in which the old regime was defeated: without bloodshed and without material damage. A Masterclass from General Oligui and his CTRI companions. My optimism is then based on the contours and mechanisms that have been put in place by the CTRI and the Government with a view to achieving the current result in 14 months. The call for contributions from the Gabonese, the inclusive dialogue, the constitution drafting committee, the constituent assembly, and the adoption of the draft constitution.”
Listening to you, do you see pragmatism on the part of the current authorities?
“The opposite would have surprised me. I have no need to remind you that pragmatism must characterize every good soldier. But beyond the CTRI, we must bring together all the vital forces of the nation who contribute on a daily basis to laying the foundations for the Gabon of tomorrow.”
However, do not all the active forces share the same opinion on the draft constitution submitted for the sanction of the people on November 16?
“It goes without saying that a nation has several children and each has the right to have an opinion contrary to others, while respecting the rules and laws in force. This is the very essence of living together. A piece of local wisdom, to paraphrase it, says that a household has one house, but several beds. Each bed has the duty to contribute to the consolidation of the building of the house. This is also an opportunity for me to position myself. I am for the adoption of the draft constitution on November 16, 2024. Without getting into the semantics of lawyers and others, I want to remain pragmatic. The proposed text is already a big step forward. No human work is perfect, we can perfect it over time, at least for subjects that deserve corrections. My pragmatism also aims to get the country out of transition. The more we delay certain steps, the longer the transition will last. I said, the adoption of this text will allow us to quickly move to the next stage in the restitution and restoration of institutions. Once again, the most difficult thing was to come out of 14 years of the old regime without bloodshed. Gabon is a country blessed by God and our ancestors. We must move forward. It is God who allowed us to go through 14 more or less difficult years, it is also God who has allowed us today to regain our dignity. I therefore invite my fellow citizens to vote massively “Yes” in this referendum. And after this Yes, I invite the CTRI to quickly organize the Presidential and legislative elections. This will allow us to have a legal and legitimate political class.
